Redner wants to grow his own cannabis plants, says suit

So much so that he's filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Health, which under current rules bars Floridians from growing cannabis plants for their personal use, even those who are legally registered as medical marijuana patients.

Redner, 77, is a registered patient in Florida and uses cannabis products to treat conditions related to his stage-four lung cancer. While he actively purchases cannabis oil products from local dispensaries, he says he wants the right to grow his own plants, according to the suit filed in Hillsborough County last week.

"This is a health issue as far as I'm concerned," said Redner, owner of the Mons Venus strip club in Tampa, during a phone interview with the Tampa Bay Times on Monday. "I've used the constitution as grounds to battle arrests in the past and I've gotten those arrests thrown out. It's pretty clear to me that the constitution gives me the right to challenge this. The state is not reading the amendment, they're not going by what it says."

Amendment 2 overwhelmingly passed in 2016, expanding the legalization of medical marijuana in Florida from just the terminally ill and some other patients with epillepsy and cancer, to those with debilitating conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, among others.

Redner is suing for declaratory judgment and is not seeking any damages. He's been vocal about medical marijuana in the past, including at Hillsborough County commission meetings over where dispensaries can operate. Redner's argument is based on how the constitution defines marijuana, according to the suit. He says that the definition includes "all parts of the plant" and therefore he has a right to grow one.

"I want to grow plants — plural. Twenty of them," he said. "I'm doing research right now and I want to be able to use it in juicing. To be effective enough, I need to grow 20 plants."

Redner wants to grow his own plants because he says he has no idea what's in the plants he's buying directly from the state's licensed growers and distributors.

"I don't know if they're using pesticides or doing what's good for the plant," he said. "I'm a raw vegan. I am very careful about what I put into my body. And the amendment gives me the right to that."

So he's challenging the state's department of health and the current rules set in place for patients. Officials with the Department of Health declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

The Florida Department of Health currently oversees the state's seven licensed companies that grow, manufacture and distribute medical marijuana, and sets the rules for patients in the state. The number of cannabis companies will grow to 17 this year, per last-minute legislation that came about during a special session in Tallahassee. It also allows patients to use cannabis pills, oils, edibles and "vape" pens with a doctor's approval but bans smoking. Redner says he plans to apply for a license as a dispensary owner, too.

Florida voters overwhelmingly voted to make medical marijuana legal, but legislators have struggled to come up with the rules to regulate the industry as it expands in the state. Medical marijuana is projected to become a $1 billion industry in Florida within the next three years.